WATCH: Inaugural atomweight MMA queen Angela Lee’s thrilling submission win over Lena Tkhorevska

Former atomweight MMA queen ‘Unstoppage’ Angela Lee faced a lot of tough opponents through her decade-long run with ONE Championship, but one of her hardest tests came at the hands of Lena Tkhorevska.

Before winning the inaugural ONE women’s atomweight MMA world championship, an 18-year-old Angela Lee engaged in an entertaining back-and-forth battle with the Polish standout at ONE: Spirit of Champions in December 2015. In the end, Lee secured her fourth-straight submission victory, cinching in a rear-naked choke in the second round:

“From The Archives 🎞️ Relive one of Angela Lee’s hardest battles against Lena in 2015!”

To her credit, Tkhorevska showed great resiliency throughout the contest, fighting out of multiple triangle and armbar attempts. She even offered up a submission attempt or two of her own, but it wasn’t enough to stand up to the world-class BJJ skills of Angela Lee.

Two fights later, Lee would defeat Mei Yamaguchi to become the first ever ONE women’s atomweight MMA world champion — a title she would hold onto until retiring from the sport six years later.

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Angela Lee finds a new passion in the face of tragedy

During her run, Angela Lee earned victories over some of the most dangerous women in all of combat sports, including ONE women’s strawweight MMA world champion Xiong Jing Nan, and her successor at atomweight, three-sport queen Stamp Fairtex.

Tragically, Lee’s younger sister and ONE Championship prospect Victoria Lee passed away in late 2022. Less than a year later, ‘Unstoppable’ laid down her gold and walked away from the sport, choosing to put her focus on FightStory, a non-profit mental health organization established in the name of Victoria Lee.

“At FightStory, our goal is to empower fighters of all walks of life; To share their stories, inspire hope and build a community for everyone to thrive in their mental and physical wellness journey,” the official Instagram reads. “Everyone you know is fighting a battle that you know nothing about, so be kind always.

If you want to learn more about FightStory, head to the official website.